Soap opera-style drama is very much in demand. The Heat's monstrous Game Seven performance against the Celtics that kept their season ticking along.Jokic and the Nuggets parading their first championship title through the streets of Denver.Other notable mentions for this category involve: LeBron James has become the NBA's all-time leading points scorer, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record The Ja Morant saga obviously stands out here, with the Memphis Grizzlies' star handed a 25-game suspension for his involvement in two gun-related incidents this season.Īs far as on-court storylines are concerned, the Portland Trail Blazers deserve to be exposed for suspiciously shutting down Damian Lillard when it became apparent they wouldn't be able to make a late dash for the final play-in spot. The mystery man unveiled himself soon after as ESPN's Mark Jackson, who quickly apologised, but the damage had been done. He didn't even get so much of a sniff at fourth or fifth place. Maybe that voter favoured another player on the list over Jokic? Well, no. While he was nowhere near matching Embiid's scores, it does mean that one voter did not vote for the Serbian international at all. Indeed, Jokic finished with 15 first-place votes, 52 second-place votes, and 32 third-place votes, totalling to 99 out of 100. That much seems apparent from the breakdown of results. But surely Nikola Jokic was the outstanding candidate? The Philadelphia 76ers know they have a worthy contender for the prize. Let's move on to the more surprising - and slightly controversial - storyline: Joel Embiid winning the MVP award. The 26-year-old is a superstar in the making, and his team have enough trade flexibility to build around him and significantly improve the roster. Losing your best two attackers can usually derail a franchise, but the Nets have done well to steady the ship with Mikal Bridges at the helm. We can't talk enough about Sacramento in this piece they should be getting all the flowers.īut let's turn our focus to Brooklyn. Open Privacy Options The most surprising storylines Twitter Due to your consent preferences, you’re not able to view this. Eventually, the Mavericks decided to throw in the towel and rest all their stars, which the league took one look at, adjudged as "conduct detrimental to the league," and dished out a £585,000 ($750,000) fine. Soon, Kyrie Irving joined the team, and the pair were ferocious together.īut not even their combined forces could stop the team from totalling. It all started promisingly, with the mercurial Luka Doncic matching Wilt Chamberlain's record for consecutive 30+ point performances in the season's first eight games. The Dallas Mavericks have come close to that dismay this season too. But combine a pre-season bust-up between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole with one of the league's worst road records, and what you get is a dynasty tottering on the precipice of extinction having been eliminated by the LA Lakers in the second round. Sure, four titles in, and things getting a little more complicated is a given. The biggest underperformersĬhampions last year, barely squeezing into the postseason conversation 12 months later, could there be a better fit for this category than the Golden State Warriors? Just like Miami, the Sacramento Kings defied the odds and battled their way to becoming a top-seven team for the first time since 2003.Īt the time, they led the league in points per game, had the best road record in the Western Conference, and possessed a compelling frontcourt duo that made light work of opposition defences as they secured the third seed.Īnd that's all without mentioning their head coach Mike Brown, who unanimously won Coach of the Year.Ĭonsidering that all 100 voters from a panel of reporters and broadcasters had the 53-year-old atop their ballot, that might tell you a little about why they deserve to be in this category.
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